BBC UK yesterday has a report clearly meant to influence voters, with an analysis of the tax burden in Scotland and England, using two highly paid tax advisers and ignoring, until a wee bit at the very end for ‘balance’, every other factor, financial and other, in their lives. It allows them to start with – Senior tax manager Scott McIver (above), who lives in Dumfries, pays more tax than his colleague working in a similar role in Carlisle Why is this unfair and, in effect, mere propaganda and interference in democratic processes? When you compare financial situations between places … Continue reading In the days before an election, BBC Scotland’s comparison only of tax bills deliberately hides the reasons things are so much better here for almost everyone

Above from YouGov (https://x.com/YouGov/status/2051609021153415554/photo/1) with John Swinney added by me in top position, based on this from Ipsos Source: https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/scots-unimpressed-holyrood-campaigns-give-snp-edge Continue reading John Swinney is most popular leader in Europe – not just fewer murders than Denmark but a more popular leader too

From Delayed discharges in NHS Scotland monthly Figures for March 2026, published today: The average number of beds occupied per day due to people delayed in hospital was 1,923 in March 2026. Compared to the previous three months, this is less than in February 2026 (1,984), January 2026 (1,973) and December 2025 (1,967). Source: https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/delayed-discharges-in-nhsscotland-monthly/delayed-discharges-in-nhs-scotland-monthly-figures-for-march-2026/main-points/ Comparisons are not straightforward but NHS Wales reported ‘cumulative days delayed around 57,500′ in March 2026. https://www.gov.wales/nhs-activity-and-performance-summary-february-and-march-2026-html Almost 2 000 per day so just higher than in Scotland, despite Wales only having around three fifths of the population. Continue reading Delayed discharges – steady fall in beds ‘blocked’ for third month in a row, in NHS Scotland, much fewer proportionally than in Labour Wales

From Cancelled planned operations Month ending 31 March 2026 published today, the above and: There were 28,454 operations planned to take place across NHS Scotland. This is 12.8% higher (+3,228) than the number planned in March 2025 (25,226). Over the course of the last 12 months, from April 2025 to March 2026 (307,272), there was a 7.2% increase (+20,756) compared to the previous 12 months (286,516). This reflects the post-Covid pandemic trend of generally increasing planned operations. The latest figure is the highest number of operations planned to take place in the post-pandemic period and [only] 3.3% lower (-961) than … Continue reading Scottish hospital operations climb almost to pre-pandemic levels with 98% efficiency and only 4 years after ‘the most extreme combined health and economic crisis in the last century’